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Eric Woodyard, ESPN
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Fresh off their first road loss of the season at Baltimore, the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions were handed a harsh reality check reminding them they still must address some major areas for improvement.
One of those areas is strengthening the chemistry between veteran quarterback Jared Goff and second-year receiver Jameson Williams, who jumped back into the mix for the second game after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
Williams also missed training camp and the first 11 games of his rookie season as he recovered from a left ACL tear suffered in college.
Williams was targeted six times with zero receptions on Sunday against the Ravens. He doesn’t want that happening again.
“Six targets, no catches, I don’t know. I’m just more focused on the team and how we played,” Williams said. “My performance, I guess can get better for sure, it’s got to get better.”
Behind the scenes, Goff is working to get in sync with Williams as they’ve put in extra work on the practice field.
“Just keep working. Again, it’s so early in his career and his development that he just has to keep working, keep working with him and building that trust with him and getting on the same page,” Goff said. “He’s working his tail off at practice and has done a great job of trying to get better every week, and I expect to see his development continue.”
Goff feels he has adjusted to the blazing speed of Williams on his route running, so that isn’t the issue, but they’re striving to be on the same page with better catching and timing on plays. They connected on a 45-yard touchdown at Tampa Bay in Week 6. Of Williams’ six career touches, three have been for gains of 40 or more yards, including a 40-yard rush in 2021, but his production hasn’t been consistent.
Both of Williams’ first two touchdowns have gone for more than 40 yards, including his first career touchdown off a 41-yard bomb versus Minnesota last season, so they’re trying to work out the kinks to maximize his explosive skill set.
“Again, it’s just so early in his career and his development that it’s just reps, it’s just reps and just time,” Goff said. “It’s only a matter of time before everything starts to click for him in our offense.”
Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022, couldn’t necessarily pinpoint a specific area where they could grow stronger together but noted that “it’s always important” to keep his head up through the struggles.
Williams found it hard to get in a rhythm in Baltimore after the Lions dug such an early hole that they trailed 28-0 at halftime and could never recover.
“That’s the main thing that you’ve got to focus on because you can’t let one play define you, one game define you,” Williams said. “You’ve just got to keep moving forward. It’s not your last game playing, it’s not your last down playing, so you’ve just got to keep looking ahead.”
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson acknowledged the early disconnect between Williams and Goff and anticipates “time on task” will help develop the rapport between them.
“We frankly aren’t there yet,” Johnson said. “So, we’ll continue to work on it and it’s going to come, and when it does come, I think we’re all going to be pleased.”
In the meantime, Johnson has challenged Williams to continue to stack up consistent days at practice and feels the repetition will help his individual improvement. There’s no doubt that throwing the ball down the field to Williams is completely different from targeting anyone else on the Lions’ roster, according to Johnson, due to his speed and skill set.
There also could be opportunities to get Williams involved in other areas on offense.
“Listen, this guy loves football, so the more we can get him involved, the better off I think we’re going to be,” Johnson said.
